The characterization and lives led by Gertrude Lodge and Rhoda Brook in Hardy's The Withered Arm
The Withered Arm
The characterization and lives led by Gertrude Lodge and Rhoda Brook in Hardy's The Withered Arm gives a graphic picture of the lives working and middle class women lived in the 19th century rural England. Women lived in a patriarchal society and were below men hieratically. They were therefore deprived of career opportunities and responsibilities. The inequalities existing between the sexes are more than apparent politically and socially; in addition to this the class divisions in society are evident in every aspect of life, as shown in Hardy's narrative. England was predominately a Christian country and those who were Christian lived according to strict moral principles, one of which was the Christian principle of 'no sex before marriage', which was closely followed by women of all classes, but not necessarily men, whom were thought to have had a dominant role in the lives of women. Thus, a woman who was unmarried and also a mother would struggle to survive financially. Hardy's text explores the issue of class, gender, superstition and their affect on the lives of his characters.
Hardy paints a negative view of women's lives in rural society and presents them as being quite literally powerless, for example the illicit affair with Farmer Lodge affects Rhoda Brook irrecoverably. The text implies that Farmer Lodge exploited a financially disadvantaged woman who was of a lower class than himself, also he had a substantial amount of wealth obtained from earlier years of labour on inherited farmland, nevertheless Rhoda Brook was still powerless to challenge him for finance to support the upbringing of their child. Farmer Lodge chose not to acknowledge the fact that he had a child and therefore the child was deprived of a father, this can be thought to be the cause of Rhoda Brook's fall: "a thin, fading woman", this shows that she has endured poverty for many years and emphasises the hardships she went through, as she was once beautiful but this has now faded. Furthermore, working class women were poverty stricken and as mentioned before were at the bottom of the hierarchy, as the majority of men were employers of women. This was due to the lack of opportunities, which meant women were unable to undertake careers of their choice and had to make do with the low paid labour extensive jobs available, such as milkmaids, which many only just managed to survive.
Rhoda Brook is alienated by the community she lives in, because she is thought to have paranormal powers and is consequently labelled a witch, also it is possible to suggest that it is due to having a child out of wed lock, which is unacceptable and meant she abandoned and failed to follow Christian moral principles. The way in which this affects her publicly is that she becomes a lonely figure set aside and is socially neglected: "milked somewhat apart from the rest", this reflects the way in which she is ostracised from society and how she does not belong to the mainstream community. This is shown by her lack of friends, as she works alone, sitting apart from the other workers and is rejected by Farmer Lodge. The reader can deduce this from the clues in the language used by Hardy: "He ha'n't spoke to Rhoda Brook for years". Furthermore, she also lives in an isolated area on the outskirts of the community coarsely apart from others and is physically isolated: "lonely spot", this represents the distance between herself and others within the community. The boy surprising refers to Farmer Lodge as: "father", who of which doe not acknowledge his son: "taken no outward notice", this reflects the way he refuses to accept his son's presence. Clues about Rhoda Brook's relationship with farmer Lodge are suggested in an oblique way, so the reader only has partial knowledge. The way Hardy withholds information is part of his skill, and makes us wonder and want to know more about their relationship. The following: "their course lay apart from others" can be referred to as ambiguous, as it could either mean that she leads a different life from others or that she took a different route in terms of style of life and chose to have a child out of wedlock. Moreover, the description of the house that Rhoda Brook and her son live in can also be referred to as having two meanings: "washed by many rains", this could mean one of the following: that the actual surface of the house had been literally washed away or alternatively could reflect that her life and beauty had been washed away. Also the: "bone protruding through the skin" could represent the idea of Rhoda Brook being a skinny woman. The overall description of the house could mean that the house is in poor condition and not maintained, if not it could represent the hardships that Rhoda has endured. Rhoda Brook is affected privately, as she feels that she cannot attend church, a place of worship for Christians, and would rather send her child, due to her past association with Farmer Lodge, because she feels reluctant and rather embarrassed to make an appearance: "Why don't you go and see for yourself", this reflects the way in which Hardy introduces the theme of Rhoda Brook's jealousy, and more importantly the reader can see the story from Rhoda Brook's perspective. When Rhoda sends her son to spy on Farmer Lodge's new wife, the reader can begin to see how jealous and rejected Rhoda feels: "Is she ladylike?", one may refer the child as a link between the private world and public world. Towards the end of the text the assumptions made by the community claming Rhoda Brook to be a witch are somewhat strengthened, which consequently drives Rhoda Brook out of her community: "disappeared from the neighbourhood", this reflects the vindictiveness between community gossip. The community assumed that Rhoda Brook had superficially persuaded Farmer Lodge to have a child with her, using the act of witchcraft, and her powers of extra sensory to supposedly trap him. Furthermore, not only was Rhoda Brook labelled a witch but also she was thought to have connections with other unusual persons, one being the so-called magician whom to everyone also had uncommon powers: "they said that you knew more of his movements than anybody else", this reflects the sustained suspicion of society. Hardy uses repetition to somewhat emphasise Rhoda Brook's physically worn appearance and in doing so improvises the fact that she has an illegitimate child and lives alone, and still yearns for a man.
The characterization and lives led by Gertrude Lodge and Rhoda Brook in Hardy's The Withered Arm gives a graphic picture of the lives working and middle class women lived in the 19th century rural England. Women lived in a patriarchal society and were below men hieratically. They were therefore deprived of career opportunities and responsibilities. The inequalities existing between the sexes are more than apparent politically and socially; in addition to this the class divisions in society are evident in every aspect of life, as shown in Hardy's narrative. England was predominately a Christian country and those who were Christian lived according to strict moral principles, one of which was the Christian principle of 'no sex before marriage', which was closely followed by women of all classes, but not necessarily men, whom were thought to have had a dominant role in the lives of women. Thus, a woman who was unmarried and also a mother would struggle to survive financially. Hardy's text explores the issue of class, gender, superstition and their affect on the lives of his characters.
Hardy paints a negative view of women's lives in rural society and presents them as being quite literally powerless, for example the illicit affair with Farmer Lodge affects Rhoda Brook irrecoverably. The text implies that Farmer Lodge exploited a financially disadvantaged woman who was of a lower class than himself, also he had a substantial amount of wealth obtained from earlier years of labour on inherited farmland, nevertheless Rhoda Brook was still powerless to challenge him for finance to support the upbringing of their child. Farmer Lodge chose not to acknowledge the fact that he had a child and therefore the child was deprived of a father, this can be thought to be the cause of Rhoda Brook's fall: "a thin, fading woman", this shows that she has endured poverty for many years and emphasises the hardships she went through, as she was once beautiful but this has now faded. Furthermore, working class women were poverty stricken and as mentioned before were at the bottom of the hierarchy, as the majority of men were employers of women. This was due to the lack of opportunities, which meant women were unable to undertake careers of their choice and had to make do with the low paid labour extensive jobs available, such as milkmaids, which many only just managed to survive.
Rhoda Brook is alienated by the community she lives in, because she is thought to have paranormal powers and is consequently labelled a witch, also it is possible to suggest that it is due to having a child out of wed lock, which is unacceptable and meant she abandoned and failed to follow Christian moral principles. The way in which this affects her publicly is that she becomes a lonely figure set aside and is socially neglected: "milked somewhat apart from the rest", this reflects the way in which she is ostracised from society and how she does not belong to the mainstream community. This is shown by her lack of friends, as she works alone, sitting apart from the other workers and is rejected by Farmer Lodge. The reader can deduce this from the clues in the language used by Hardy: "He ha'n't spoke to Rhoda Brook for years". Furthermore, she also lives in an isolated area on the outskirts of the community coarsely apart from others and is physically isolated: "lonely spot", this represents the distance between herself and others within the community. The boy surprising refers to Farmer Lodge as: "father", who of which doe not acknowledge his son: "taken no outward notice", this reflects the way he refuses to accept his son's presence. Clues about Rhoda Brook's relationship with farmer Lodge are suggested in an oblique way, so the reader only has partial knowledge. The way Hardy withholds information is part of his skill, and makes us wonder and want to know more about their relationship. The following: "their course lay apart from others" can be referred to as ambiguous, as it could either mean that she leads a different life from others or that she took a different route in terms of style of life and chose to have a child out of wedlock. Moreover, the description of the house that Rhoda Brook and her son live in can also be referred to as having two meanings: "washed by many rains", this could mean one of the following: that the actual surface of the house had been literally washed away or alternatively could reflect that her life and beauty had been washed away. Also the: "bone protruding through the skin" could represent the idea of Rhoda Brook being a skinny woman. The overall description of the house could mean that the house is in poor condition and not maintained, if not it could represent the hardships that Rhoda has endured. Rhoda Brook is affected privately, as she feels that she cannot attend church, a place of worship for Christians, and would rather send her child, due to her past association with Farmer Lodge, because she feels reluctant and rather embarrassed to make an appearance: "Why don't you go and see for yourself", this reflects the way in which Hardy introduces the theme of Rhoda Brook's jealousy, and more importantly the reader can see the story from Rhoda Brook's perspective. When Rhoda sends her son to spy on Farmer Lodge's new wife, the reader can begin to see how jealous and rejected Rhoda feels: "Is she ladylike?", one may refer the child as a link between the private world and public world. Towards the end of the text the assumptions made by the community claming Rhoda Brook to be a witch are somewhat strengthened, which consequently drives Rhoda Brook out of her community: "disappeared from the neighbourhood", this reflects the vindictiveness between community gossip. The community assumed that Rhoda Brook had superficially persuaded Farmer Lodge to have a child with her, using the act of witchcraft, and her powers of extra sensory to supposedly trap him. Furthermore, not only was Rhoda Brook labelled a witch but also she was thought to have connections with other unusual persons, one being the so-called magician whom to everyone also had uncommon powers: "they said that you knew more of his movements than anybody else", this reflects the sustained suspicion of society. Hardy uses repetition to somewhat emphasise Rhoda Brook's physically worn appearance and in doing so improvises the fact that she has an illegitimate child and lives alone, and still yearns for a man.
